Creativity

So its been a while since I've blogged. Its crazy how in life you will go through seasons of doing certain activities while be incredibly excited by them; then the next moment you are on to "bigger" and " better" things. Such is the case with this blog. If I can go back to that last statement, however, I recalled recently that the creative branch of my tree seems to have withered a bit recently. And while I'm not so sure as to every reason why, I think part of it is that o have moved on to the next big thing. Honestly I'm not even sure what it was or what the last 5 big things have been, but fact of the matter is it seems as though I was caught in a cycle there for a little bit. If you throw on your deep-thinker cap for a moment I think I can try to explain. You see sometimes in life we try to synthesize excitement by finding things we enjoy to do. Whether that be music, golf, reading, writing or even humor. When it comes down to it this is a small version of trying to fill a void only God can fill. Let me be clear while I have no doubt Jesus is my lord and savior, and that void is filled, like many of us I have tried to fill the void which is the Joy of the Lord. Reality states that there is nothing but Lord who can bring us true joy and happiness. Now I realize that may have seemed more extreme of an answer than my situation called for, but what if we were under the allusion that God isn't in the day to day, seemingly in insignificant dealings as well. I think he might be.

So what does creativity have to do with any of this? Well I believe God placed in me a creative mind that, unfortunately, I've been stunting the growth of. Your creative muscle is just as much imrpoved by repetition as is the cardiovascular system of a runner. I think I have started to try to many things in order to be happy that I forgot to just be Gods child and use the gifts he gave me. There is a reason God has made each person different from the next and that is he has different plans and purposes for each one. Mine is not to be a professional golfer or (insert pointless hobby here).  Now hear me out. There is nothing wrong with taking up hobbies. I will continue to play golf and work on pimping out my 1992 Honda accord named "Sanchez" but the point being, I can't consume my life with those when God had called me to develop the gifts he built in me. For he knows the plans he had for us. Plans to prosper.
I know this was long and a little bit thicker than usual but I thought I should let you in on some thoughts going through this weird brain of mine. Hope your all doing well. And hopefully you'll hear from me again sooner than my last blog.
Adios amigos

Size doesn't matter

I recently had the opportunity to pour into some Jr High students about worship and really just get the chance to see what they thought.   I lead a few song set for about 15 students and two of their leaders.  It was a core group of "student leaders" who were looking to get more out of worship than just screaming and jumping around.  Which is a good thing and should not be eliminated from our worship of God because it is ok to get excited about God and to show him that excitement.  One of the things mentioned by a student however is that they really felt that worship was a time for them to intimately connect with God (smart bunch) I was stoked to hear him say that because his heart is along the right path.  I love worshipping in a setting where the music is loud and the band is rocking because one it's the kind of music I like, two it is a lot easier to focus on worshipping God all out not worrying about the person next to you hearing you sing.  Cuz well they can't hear you over the music lol.  But all that being iterated, there is something special about worshipping with an acoustic guitar and no PA. I also got to share a little bit about my thoughts on worship during this meeting with those student leaders which was great for me because I love sharing what God has put on my heart.  One of the things that resonated with me as a Leader from Jr High staff read from John 4; is that the time which that verse speaks of is now.  When we will worship the father in spirit and truth.  Two things stick out to me about this. First the time is now.  We are living in a generation that has put a greater focus on worship as a whole.  If you look 2 or even a generation in the past, the emphasis on worship through song was very small.  Music is a very powerful tool and I believe God created it so we can be in harmony with Him (no pun intented ;))But  there needs to be some form of structure to our worship or we become crazy people just singing songs.  That's where the second part comes into play, and that is worshipping in spirit and truth. Both of which are necessary in our worship. I heard my pastor say this quote one time and I just loved it.  He said, "If you have to much truth you will dry up.  But if you have to much spirit you will never grow up." Now that's not to say you can exceed a limit for how much factual and spiritual input is coming into your life.  However, you can easily emphasize one more than the other and that's where the problem presents itself.  So much of life is balancing what is thrown our way and the same rings true in our daily walk with Christ.  We can never fully understand the depths of God but we can do our best to offer ourselves as living sacrifices each day and acknowledge Him with everything and like he promised he will make our  paths straight.
So I realize this was a bit of a stream of consciousness blog but I really wanted to share what God was doing in me this week.  Until next time, don't forget to floss them peralys :)

Songwiting Speech

So I have to do a demonstration speech tomorrow and I chose to do it on songwriting so here are my notes and outline for the speech. Disregard the references they were required for the speech.

General Purpose: To inform

Specific Purpose: To demonstrate how to write a 5 simple steps on how to write a song.

Audience Relevancy: Songwriting is what generates the music we listen to.  I know that each person  has sat down on a given time and said man wouldn't it be awesome to write down these feelings or thoughts that i'm having and put music to them. 

Introduction: Music is a part of every persons life daily.  It influences the decisions we make and the moods we are in. What more power does one have than the hands of those who create the music we listen to. Songwriting is a difficult task, which may come as a surprise to most of you.  It is just as much a task as it is a creative overflow of what you are feeling or thinking.  Life is set in motion by the music we listen to so the ball is in your court to write music for the masses to listen to. 

Preview: I am going to share with you what inspires a song, how to get your ideas down, what steps need to be taken to formulate a song, how to write to relate to you audience, and how to add the finishing sparkle to your music.

Thesis: Songwriting was started as a means to get whats on the inside to the outside using creative means.

1. There are many ways which make it possible to find inspiration for songwriting.  

1. One of these is finding a place where you feel comfortable.  I would say a place that makes you happy but to be honest that is not always the best environment for writing a song.  

2. According to www.writeasong.org a crucial component of getting inspired to write a song is you have to be influenced by a song or songwriter. 

3. It's also a good idea to find conventions and conferences so you can have the best at your fingertips teaching you their ways. Some of these events are: melesongwriters conference which happened this june. www.melesongwriters.org

2, You can't just be inspired and call it a day. That never got songwriters like John Mayer, Matt Thiessen or Aaron Marsh anywhere. 

1. You need to document your ideas as soon as they come into your head, therefore it is crucial to have a notebook or a recording device on you at all times.

2. Some great things to have for documenting ideas are first of all an expensive notebook. It is very hard to be inspired when you don't have a notebook that is dedicated solely to writing music. Have this on you at all times. Secondly it's good to have a portable recording device on your person at all times for quick documentation of melodic or lyrical ideas.  Thirdly for times when you have a chance to sit down and work out ideas. A studio set up is a great choice.

3. According to www.vocalist.org some good tools to have are: 

Pad of Paper for Notes & Writing Lyrics
MusicManuscript Books or Paper
Pencils & Erasers
Cassette or Minidisc Recorder 

3. A great idea can be put to waste if placed in the wrong song so formulation is key.

1. Always keep in mind the bigger picture.  Something that maybe cool by itself could end up as a bummer deal for the song as a whole. 

2. Think in terms of what musical parts would fit in to a verse or chorus, rather than how fast can I play this run or how high can I sing here. 

4. If you've ever wondered why so many people write about love it's because everybody can relate to it. 

1. When writing lyrics to your song you need to take into consideration the audience that you are gearing your song towards.  You can't write about the house you grew up to a country musical background when your playing shows for an indie crowd. 

2Evans, Jerome in her article, “From Sheryl Crow to Homer Simpson: Literature and Composition through Pop Culture.” English Journal 93.3 (January 2004): 34-38. says, “Artifacts of pop culture serve as advanced organizers for students, who can then connect new material (prominent and persistent themes in American literature) to their own experiences with literature (song lyrics). Once they see that songwriters and performers develop themes in the music they enjoy, discovering those themes (and, of course, others) in literature new to them is simply not so difficult.”

5. Finally once a song is structured there leaves but one step and that is to make it sparkle.  To add the finishing touches to bring your song from an enjoyable track to a hit single. 

1. www.npr.org says "A songwriter can write a great song, but the perfect song is in the mind of the listener." 

- Not only does the a song have to be catchy, it needs to flow in such a manner that the listener doesn't say, "Ya it was cool, but I was a little confused about the guitar solo." These comments show that there is an issue in the song. 

Conclusion: Songwriting is not a gift for a select few but a gift to all. We all have the opportunity to write and share what we have in our minds. 

Notes

Introduction: Music is a part of every persons life daily.  It influences the decisions we make and the moods we are in. What more power does one have than the hands of those who create the music we listen to. Songwriting is a difficult task, which may come as a surprise to most of you.  It is just as much a task as it is a creative overflow of what you are feeling or thinking.  Life is set in motion by the music we listen to so the ball is in your court to write music for the masses to listen to.

1. You have to be influenced to be inspired

- comfortability 

- www.writeasong.org says to be inspired you need influence

- give examples of your influence Mayer, copeland,…ect. 

- play guitar hook

-reference www.melesongwriters.org

2. You gotta have to have a source to be a resource 

- documentation tools. 

- demonstrate pro tools 

-reference www.vocalist.org

3. Just because it rips doesn't mean it will fit.

- show a stupid guitar lick

- sing an untimely high note.

4. Relevancy over complacency

- consider the crowd

- reference and read quote from Jerome Evans, English Journal Article "From Sheryl Crowe to Homer Simpson" “Artifacts of pop culture serve as advanced organizers for students, who can then connect new material (prominent and persistent themes in American literature) to their own experiences with literature (song lyrics). Once they see that songwriters and performers develop themes in the music they enjoy, discovering those themes (and, of course, others) in literature new to them is simply not so difficult.”

5. Refine till it shines.  

- Reference npr.org "A songwriter can write a great song, but the perfect song is in the mind of the listener."

- show the melody change in the bridge. 

Conclusion: Songwriting is not a gift for a select few but a gift to all. We all have the opportunity to write and share what we have in our minds. 

Not Superman

Today I came to the realization that no matter how much I think that I am superman I am not. However, I did in fact use to dress up as him on a consistent basis, but that is beside the point and was years ago.  I showed up at Bayside this morning at 6:40 with my bro cuz I wanted to show him the ropes (at least those which I've grasped myself) of our tech dealings.  Which was awesome btdub and my bro was stoked to learn.  This was followed by leading in Club 56 and then making an airport run to pick up the guys from the road.  Side note I could drive to the airport in my sleep at this point. So anyways after that I figured my day was coming to a close when I was asked to mix for the student lead worship night rehearsal.  So as much as I don't want to make know that I love doing tech stuff, I do love doing it. Its quite fun for me.  That being said I do not want to get stuck on a sound board for the next three months because I am a musician and that's my passion. And I am totally ok with being labeled a musician who can tech if need be.  So enough boring all off you with that cuz I'm sure you don't care.  After finishing my first mix for fusion a few hours after the rehearsal I started thinking bout how I haven't slept in past 7 for about 2 weeks and looking forward to this week it seems if that streak will continue. I am a recovering morning person who has spent the last 7 months transitioning into a night person.  And by that I was both for the last 7 months.  I'm not saying this to complain because that't not who I am.  I am iterating this so you can see how I came to my non-heroic realization.  I can't fly either so that sucks....
I know God is preparing me through a lot of this though and I'm stoked about it but it's starting to ring true in my mind that there is a balance that needs to be achieved in life.  As sappy as it sounds I'm stoked to have a family one day and I don't want to get so caught in what I'm doing ministry wise that I forget about them.  I know how much I enjoy every bit of the work that I do down at the church so I see potential conflict of interests down the road and I want to create that balance now.  So there you have it short but full I would say.  I would add more detail but I am opening at Jamba tomorrow and that means another 5:30 AM alarm. TaTa for now all 2 of you who read my blog and good night :)

This morning began with a round of golf being cancelled.  My tee time was set for 7:08 so at least I didn't find out that it was cancelled until after my alarm went off at 6:00 AM :) Thus continuing my streak of not sleeping in past 6:30 for the last two weeks.  I hadn't been able to find my ATM card for the last two days so I headed Jamba positive it was there.  I was correct to an extent....I rummaged through the store until one of my employees pulled my card out of his pocket saying "dude your not gonna believe this..." Am I the only one who finds that a little puzzling.  To his defense it probably was an accident due to the fact he was ringing me up for a smoothie when my district manager and his boss walked into the store increasing our heart rates by about 50 BPM.
Since I had a very rare day off today I went to bloom to waste time until I had to go to the airport to pick up Lee.  There I ran into Angie Wysocki and hung out while she worked.  However I spent the majority of my time looking at digidesign's d-controller ES cuz it's freaking sick! And ultimately out of boredom I created this blog. So there you have it round 1 in the books.  Hey Corbin how does it feel writing a blog that no one is going to see...? hmmm. welp see ya later.